The first lady once again is challenging the nation’s children to dream up healthy lunch recipes, a now annual component of her Let’s Move! campaign to reduce childhood obesity through diet and exercise.

The Healthy Lunchtime Challenge — run in conjunction with public television station WGBH Boston and the federal departments of Agriculture and Education — invites 8- to 12-year-olds to submit original recipes for healthy and affordable lunches. Winners from each state and U.S. territory will be flown to Washington this summer for a “state dinner” for kids at the White House.

The recipes — which can be submitted online through April 30 — need to follow federal guidelines for healthy meals, which means produce should account for about half of each serving. Some of the winning recipes will be served at the White House dinner, and all will be included in a digital cookbook.

]]>1.579403Tue, 31 Mar 2015 17:40:00 +0000http://www.ohio.com/business/program-to-put-kids-eat-right-logo-on-kraft-singles-ending-1.579395?localLinksEnabled=false
NEW YORK: A program to put a dietitian group’s “Kids Eat Right” logo on Kraft Singles has reached an early expiration date.

Kraft Foods and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics decided to end the partnership because “misperceptions are overshadowing the campaign,” Kraft said in a statement. The decision comes after a petition by dietitians called for an end to the partnership, saying putting the logo on packages amounted to an endorsement of the cheese product. The petition also called for transparency about the terms of the deal that allowed Kraft to use the logo.

Kraft and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics said their partnership was intended to raise awareness about inadequate calcium intake and vitamin D deficiency in kids. Kraft did not disclose how much it gave to the academy as part of the deal.

Jody Moore, a spokeswoman for Kraft, said the company and academy are still working out the details of ending its three-year agreement, which would have included a website and other to-be-determined elements.

“That collaboration is not going to be happening,” Moore said.

The logo is nevertheless set to start appearing on products this week and will likely remain on shelves until at least July because some packaging has already been manufactured, she said. Moore declined to say whether Kraft would still give money to the professional group.

A spokesman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which has more than 75,000 members, declined to comment. In a letter sent to members on Monday, however, academy President Sonja Connor said the group “deeply regrets the circumstances that have led to the pending termination of this initiative.”

“This pilot initiative was never intended to be an official Academy endorsement of a particular product, which is strictly prohibited by our policy and is expressly included in all contracts,” the letter said.

The letter also said that the board is taking steps to avoid a similar situation in the future.

The issue gained attention after a story earlier this month by The New York Times on the partnership. Kate Geagan one of the dietitians who started the petition, said that despite what the academy said, the logo on the product would be perceived as an endorsement by the group, which could cause confusion for shoppers looking for healthy options.

“I’m a mom — I know how hard it is,” she said.

Andy Bellatti, one of the founders of Dietitians for Professional Integrity, which has criticized the academy’s corporate ties, said he thinks the Kraft deal provoked a strong reaction in part because it involved children’s diets.

“Whenever children are thrown into the mix, it tends to get people more riled up,” Bellatti said.

Fans of the small, square hamburgers who were distraught when Columbus-based White Castle shut down its iconic fast-food restaurants in the region last year won’t have to drive to central Ohio to get their fix anymore. But they will need to head to a RubberDucks game at Canal Park in downtown Akron.

The minor-league team announced a partnership with family-owned White Castle on Monday to add cheeseburger sliders to its eclectic ballpark menu. The first taste will be at 5:05 p.m. April 7 when the RubberDucks play the Lake County Captains in an exhibition game.

“White Castle is known for its legendary distinctive taste around the country, and now steamy hot sliders are available at the ballpark,” White Castle Vice President Jamie Richardson said in a prepared statement. “Sliders are a natural with baseball.”

The sliders will cost $4 for two and will be available at the Dog Pound concession stand in the concourse, near third base. On Thursdays, they will be available from vendors making their way through the stands.

“They have been a staple in this area for a long time,” RubberDucks General Manager Jim Pfander said in a prepared statement. “We are excited to team up with White Castle to bring them back.”

White Castle closed all five of its Northeast Ohio restaurants on Christmas Eve. It has continued to operate about 55 restaurants in the Columbus and Cincinnati areas. Menu items are available in the Akron area — in the freezer cases of many local grocery stores.

The RubberDucks plan to unveil their new Extreme Menu items for the upcoming season Tuesday, with White Castle sliders being part of the announcement. The team also will introduce a new craft beer menu and window, which will be located on the concourse behind home plate.

]]>1.579083Tue, 31 Mar 2015 03:07:36 +0000http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/food/what-s-for-dinner-matzo-lasagna-1.578503?localLinksEnabled=false
As a child, my only experience with matzo was my dad’s pizzas. This wasn’t a good association.

His go-to late night snack was a sheet of matzo smeared with tomato paste, then topped with slices of bright orange fat-free American “cheese.” He’d then microwave it until the cheese-like substance began to bubble and the matzo softened a bit.

Thinking matzo could be put to better use, I recently did a bit of research. Turns out, Dad wasn’t the only one putting matzo to use in classic Italian dishes. My favorite? The many iterations of matzo lasagna, in which sheets of matzo are used in place of the noodles.

That prompted me to start playing, and this savory-creamy lasagna stacked with sauteed mushrooms and onions was the delicious result.

In a large skillet over medium-high, melt the butter. Add the onions and saute until they are starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and thyme, then saute until the mushrooms also have begun to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the cream, then simmer, stirring often, until thickened, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta, eggs, Italian seasoning and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper. In a small bowl, mix together the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

To assemble the lasagna, set 1 sheet of matzo in the prepared baking pan. Spread a third of the ricotta mixture over the matzo, then a third of the mushroom-onion mixture over that. Sprinkle with a quarter of the cheese blend, then top with a second sheet of matzo, gently pressing it so it lays flat. Repeat the layering two more times, finishing with a final sheet of matzo and sprinkling the remaining cheese over it.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the cheeses have melted and lightly browned. Let cool for 10 minutes, then cut into squares.

Makes 8 servings.

]]>1.578503Fri, 27 Mar 2015 20:25:58 +0000http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/food/free-showings-of-big-hero-6-theory-of-everything-and-mean-girls-farmers-market-at-old-trail-school-more-free-worthy-things-to-do-1.577963?localLinksEnabled=false
Snacks will be available at these free showings of three ahhh-worthy movies: First up is the superhero animated flick Big Hero 6 at 5:45 p.m. Friday at Family Movie Night at the Salvation Army, 268 Main St., Ravenna. Next is Mean Girls starring Lindsay Lohanas a new girl who falls out of favor with her school’s A-listers at 7 p.m. Friday at the New Center Auditorium at Northeast Ohio Medical University, 4209 State Route 44, Rootstown. Last is the Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything at 6:30 p.m. at the Twinsburg Public Library, 10050 Ravenna Road.

Sip on a bourbon chosen to enhance the food you are eating when Kosar’s Wood-Fired Grill at the Hard Rock Rocksino at Northfield Park holds a four-course Bourbon Dinner at 7 p.m. Sunday. Courses, each paired with a bourbon, will include wild mushroom risotto cake, shaved kale and baby greens with blue cheese and crispy pork belly, roast rack of Duroc pork, and flourless chocolate and espresso cake with white chocolate ganache and bourbon butterscotch sauce. Live music will include bluegrass and Southern rock tunes. Cost is $75. For reservations, call 330-908-7601 or email hrcnp@hrrnp.com.

Wade Leslie Meyer, who self-published What Shall I Bring? Your Personal Cookbook for Visiting Friends, will speak at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Barberton Public Library, 602 W. Park Ave. The book features recipes for easy-to-make sweet and savory goodies to take to friends who have the main course handled.

Make your way to the season’s last Countryside Winter Farmers’ Market at Old Trail School from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at 2315 Ira Road, Bath Township. Established and managed by Countryside Conservancy, the market features vendors with locally produced fruits and vegetables, meats, cheeses, baked goods, prepared foods, fresh pasta, honey, eggs, flowers and more. Find more information at www.cvcountryside.org.

]]>1.577963Wed, 25 Mar 2015 22:51:03 +0000http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/dinners/food-notes-big-greek-bake-sale-on-the-way-in-akron-no-thin-mints-shortage-here-crazy-ivan-s-crazy-about-shawarma-opens-in-medina-fishers-wine-tasting-1.577649?localLinksEnabled=false
Next week, a handful of local men and women will arise before dawn and head to a local doughnut shop to begin the process of making some 500 loaves of bread.

Yes, bread, not doughnuts. Golden braided loaves of Easter bread made by members of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Akron for the annual Spring Bake Sale.

“We’ve been so blessed to be able to use the giant doughnut mixer,” at North Hill Donuts, said Kim Vernis, who heads up the church’s annual Spring Bake Sale, a fundraiser for the church’s women’s board. “It cuts down four hours off the whole process.”

A sure sign of spring, it’s nearly time for the sale, in its 43rd year, which runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 1 and 2 at the church hall, 129 S. Union St., adjacent to the University of Akron campus.

The sale will feature the hundreds of loaves of bread and thousands of pastries, including baklava, galaktoboureko (phyllo filled with custard) and kourambiethes (butter cookie coated with powdered sugar). Also this year, the sale will offer spanakopita (spinach and feta in phyllo) and tiropita (feta and other cheese in phyllo).

To place an order or for information, call ­330-434-0000.

While North Hill Donuts’ giant mixer has been a big time saver in recent years, dozens of volunteers are still needed to prepare the bread, not to mention all the other goodies.

Vernis said about 50 church members will show up at the church kitchen on Monday to finish making the bread that got its start early in the morning at the doughnut shop. The dough will go through multiple rises before it is braided and baked.

The group will make roughly 500 to 600 loaves; the number can be difficult to pin down ahead of time. Various factors are at play, Vernis explained, such as the humidity and the size of the eggs.

Members of the women’s board began baking and freezing pastries last month.

The sale has evolved into a major fundraiser for the women’s board — which officially is called the Ladies Philoptochos Society — which raises $25,000 a year for local, national and international charities.

For Vernis and others, baking for the sale is an annual ritual. “It’s kind of a process through Lent, besides prayer and fasting,” said Vernis, who is a teacher of the visually impaired. “We pray, we fast and we bake.”

This year, Orthodox Easter is April 12, just one week after the April 5 date that Western Christian churches will celebrate.

No cookie shortage

There’s no thin supplies of Thin Mints in these parts. While other areas of the country have experienced a shortage, they’re available here, reports Kimberley Graves, communications manager for the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio.

“We had our order in to production before [shortages] happened,” Graves said.

Along with Thin Mints, Girl Scouts of North East Ohio have a new addition to the cookie lineup: Rah-Rah Raisins, an oatmeal raisin cookie with Greek yogurt-flavored chunks. The others are Samoas, Do-Si-Dos, Tagalongs, Trefoils and Savannah Smiles. They are all made by Little Brownie Bakers of Kentucky. Cookies sell for $4 per box.

Find out where Girl Scout cookies are being sold near you by going to www.girlscoutcookies.org. You also can call 888-9-THIN-MINT. Booth sales at shopping areas and elsewhere run through March 29. An app to find booths by ZIP code can be downloaded from the iTunes store or Android Marketplace.

Men Who Cook

Reminder: Summa Health Systems has revived its popular Men Who Cook fundraiser after a year’s hiatus.

The event — which involves men from throughout the Akron area cooking up their favorite dishes in a competition — will return from 5 to 9 p.m. April 24.

This year, for the first time, the fundraiser will be at the Akron Art Museum. Guests (without food in hand) may visit the galleries and gift shop at the beginning of the event. A live auction is at 6:50 p.m., with award presentations to the cooks at 7:30 p.m.

The event — which netted $70,000 in 2013 for a mammogram program — this year will raise money for Summa at Home, the hospital system’s nonprofit program that offers home health care, hospice and palliative care.

Donations are $60, which includes one ballot for the People’s Choice Award, or $150 for patron level, which includes two ballots and name listing.

BrandSpark International, a marketing research company in Toronto, might want to get a little more acquainted with Northeast Ohio geography.

The company did a big survey of American shoppers and revealed earlier this month that among its Most Trusted Brands of 2015 were “Cleveland-based brands” Jif peanut butter and Smucker’s jam.

Tell that to the folks at J.M. Smucker Co., headquartered on Strawberry Lane in Orrville, about 50 miles south of Cleveland.

Smucker makes Jif, Smucker’s jam, Folger’s coffee and a bunch of other food. Just this week, the company finished the acquisition the Big Heart Pet Brands, owner of Milk Bone and other pet brands.

Jackson wine tasting

About a dozen wines will be paired with an array of appetizers at the Spring Wine & Food Tasting from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Fishers Foods at 5215 Fulton Road, Jackson Township.

The “Passport” runs $5, which includes a meet and greet with Anthony Nunes, owner of Vino Veritas Winery and Ristorante in the Little Italy area of Cleveland.

Vino Veritas, which makes its wine from California and Washington state grapes, has begun selling its riesling, chardonnay and cabernet at Fishers, and among the wines featured Friday will be Veritas riesling. Vino Veritas, which opened last year, is at 12204 Mayfield Road.

Many folks already have signed up for a 2015 “farm share.” A farm share — also called a CSA, for community-supported agriculture — allows the buyer to share in the farm’s yield for the season.

Here’s a website if you’re searching for one to join: www.localharvest.org. The site offers a nationwide directory of locally sourced food, including listings of 16 CSAs that serve Summit and Stark counties.

In May, the market will move to Howe Meadow in Cuyahoga Falls. A weeknight market will begin in the spring in Akron’s Highland Square.

Countryside is a nonprofit that promotes local farms, offers educational programs and manages farmers markets. Details will be posted soon at www.cvcountryside.org.

New restaurant in Medina

Turn on the Google machine and you’ll find that definitions for shawarma, gyro and doner kebab all discuss meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie.

Crazy Ivan’s, a new restaurant just off the square in Medina, calls its menu item shawarma, and keeps it simple: It offers only a chicken shawarma (with onions, tomatoes and cucumbers) and a vegetarian one, both served in an Armenian lavash flatbread and garnished with Kefir and sour cream. A beef shawarma is coming soon.

You can get a side of chips from Great Lakes Potato Chips of Traverse City, Mich., for $1.50.

Crazy Ivan’s hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Crazy Ivan’s is at 426 S. Court St. Call 234-802-0018 or go to www.crazyivans.menu or the Crazy Ivan’s Facebook page.

Reeves Cake Shop, 2770 Cory Ave., Akron, will host a free cake tasting from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. The baking area will be open. Coffee will be served, Reeves says. For more information, call 330-848-1036. The cake shop is a nearly four-decade-old family enterprise.

]]>1.577649Wed, 25 Mar 2015 18:58:48 +0000http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/food/farmers-fund-research-to-breed-gluten-free-wheat-1.577672?localLinksEnabled=false
WICHITA, KAN.: Kansas farmers are paying for genetic research to figure out exactly why some people struggle to digest wheat.

The hard science is aimed at developing varieties of wheat at a time when the gluten-free industry is worth nearly a billion dollars a year in the U.S. alone.

The Kansas Wheat Commission is spending $200,000 for the first two years of the project, which is meant to identify everything in wheat’s DNA sequences that can trigger a reaction in people suffering from celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder in which eating even tiny amounts of gluten — comprised of numerous, complex proteins that gives dough its elasticity and some flavor to baked goods — can damage the small intestine.

The only known treatment for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet the avoids any food that contains wheat, rye and barley.

“If you know you are producing a crop that is not tolerated well by people, then it’s the right thing to do,” said the project’s lead researcher, Chris Miller, senior director of research for Engrain, a Kansas company that makes products to enhance the nutrition and appearance of products made by the milling and cereal industry.

Though celiac disease is four to five times more common now than 50 years ago, only about 1 percent of the world’s population is believed to suffer from it, and just a fraction has been diagnosed. But the gluten-free food business has skyrocketed in the past five years, driven in part by non-celiac sufferers who believe they are intolerant to gluten and look for such products as a healthier alternative.

Sales of gluten-free snacks, crackers, pasta, breads and other products reached $973 million in the U.S. in 2014, up from $810 million the previous year, according to a January report by the consumer research firm Packaged Facts, which analyzed the sales of hundreds of explicitly labeled and marketed gluten-free products and brands at supermarkets, drugstores and mass merchandisers.

Understanding the causes of celiac disease and gluten intolerance is the goal of a lot of research around the world. Some focuses on human diagnosis and treatment, and others studies have identified about 20 of the protein fragments in wheat that causes celiac reactions.

But no one has identified all of them, or bred a variety of wheat that is safe for celiac sufferers to eat.

“We are hoping to be one of the first to establish this comprehensive screening of reactive proteins in wheat,” Miller said.

The research began in July at the Wheat Innovation Center in Manhattan, Kan., and remains in its early stages, with researchers extracting proteins from seeds of various varieties of wheat. A later step will be combining the proteins with antibodies produced by the human immune system to test for reactions.

Miller also plans to examine the wild relatives of wheat as well as modern varieties, and will tap into a Kansas wheat variety repository that dates to the 1900s in hopes of finding a variety — perhaps one that fell out of favor among commercial farmers — that might already be low in reactivity for celiac sufferers.

Researchers hope to use that variety to develop a gluten-free wheat using traditional breeding methods.

]]>1.577672Tue, 24 Mar 2015 23:06:41 +0000http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/food/cookbook-check-out-salad-love-1.577668?localLinksEnabled=false
I was surprised to be so smitten with Salad Love ($25), a new cookbook by David Bez. It’s based on his blog, Salad Pride, which he started in 2010, after challenging himself to create and consume a new salad every day for a year. The blog is a lovely source for salad inspiration, but the book is even lovelier.

Salad Love takes a counterintuitive approach: There are no recipes, at least not in the traditional sense.

Rather, the book packs in 260 salad and dressing ideas, collections of ingredients Bez suggests work well together. Each set is accompanied by a photo (by Bez), as well as suggestions for making each salad vegan or omnivorous. But the message clearly is that improv is good.

The ideas — all of which take 20 minutes or less to assemble — are creative without being outlandish, spanning a toss of broiled squid, avocado, edamame and chili to kale with blackberries and raspberries dressed with an almond vinaigrette. It is divided into seasons, a nice play for a meal many people think of only during warmer months.

— J.M. Hirsch

Associated Press

]]>1.577668Tue, 24 Mar 2015 22:47:06 +0000http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/food/new-in-food-snyder-s-cinnamon-sugar-pretzel-poppers-1.577665?localLinksEnabled=false
Pretzels — the addicting snack that we all know and love — have just been revamped with Snyder’s new line of Pretzel Poppers.

The hollow, crunchy pretzel shell is dusted with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar sweetness that nicely complements the underlying salty base. It’s a light, airy take on the traditional treat.

A 10-ounce bag is about $3.49 at mass retailers nationwide.

— Sara Bower

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

]]>1.577665Tue, 24 Mar 2015 22:47:02 +0000http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/food/kitchen-scoop-aunt-s-recipe-brings-back-sweet-memories-1.577666?localLinksEnabled=false
Today’s Hawaiian Cream Pie recipe brings back purely good memories. I remembered eating it as a child, but couldn’t quite place which aunt prepared it regularly. When I found a copy in my grandmother’s recipe box, I knew it wasn’t her handwriting, so I asked my mom whose it was.

“Oh, that’s Louise’s handwriting!”

It brought tears to our eyes, having lost my Aunt Louise several years ago to a long battle with cancer — not to mention losing her weekly participation in Sunday dinner desserts many years before that because of divorce. But, as often happens, once an “aunt,” always an aunt.

Back when my Aunt Louise made this pie, macadamia nuts were so exotic that we’d never even heard of them. When lightly toasted, they are amazing with the other tropical flavors in this creamy pie. But I write this recipe as Louise did, using pecans that are plentiful here in North Carolina.

I hope you enjoy this light, springtime pie as much as I do.

Hawaiian Cream Pie

1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust

1 cup canned crushed pineapple, with juice

½ cup sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

1 banana, sliced into circles, divided use

½ cup chopped pecans, toasted, divided use

½ cup plus 2 tbsp. shredded coconut, divided use

2 cups whipped cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place crust evenly over a 9-inch pie plate and press into plate. Crimp or decorate sides as desired. Dock the crust well (poke holes in bottom and sides with fork) or use pie weights and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until crust is light golden-brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

In a medium saucepan, stir together the pineapple with juice, sugar and cornstarch. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil until thickened, about 2 minutes. Set aside to partially cool.

Place half the sliced banana in the bottom of the crust, top with half the pecans, half the reserved pineapple filling and ¼ cup of the coconut. Repeat layers.

Toast remaining 2 tablespoons coconut. Top the pie with whipped cream and sprinkle with toasted coconut. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before slicing and serving.

]]>1.577666Tue, 24 Mar 2015 22:47:02 +0000http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/food/hints-from-heloise-cutting-kids-food-reviving-hardened-honey-1.577664?localLinksEnabled=false
Diana W. in Pennsylvania writes: Here is a hint for when making breakfast for kids or grandkids: Most mornings, whether I’ve made waffles, pancakes or even French toast, the kids need their food cut up. For quick, easy cuts, I use my pizza cutter. The cutter makes bite-size pieces in a flash.

Shirley L. in Florida writes: I buy honey at a big-box store. After a while, it crystallizes, and I would heat it in a pot of water to thin it out. I solved my problem by putting it into small jars. If it starts to crystallize, I put it on the top rack of the dishwasher. When the cycle is finished, the honey is back to the way it was before. It works perfectly. Just be sure the lid is on tight.

— King Features

]]>1.577664Tue, 24 Mar 2015 22:47:02 +0000http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/food/this-easter-master-perfectly-creamy-scalloped-potatoes-1.577662?localLinksEnabled=false
With Easter on its way, my mind has turned to scalloped potatoes, always a big hit at a holiday feast. And really, what’s not to love? We’re talking about sliced potatoes baked in a cream sauce, then topped with cheese or crumbs or both! Still, it takes some care to ensure that the potatoes are properly seasoned, properly tender, and creamy as a dream.

I’ve made scalloped potatoes using both russets and Yukon Golds, and each has advantages. The russets pick up more of the flavor of the cream, while the Yukons were firmer and retained more of the flavor of the potato. In this case, I ruled in favor of richness. The russets got the nod.

Whichever you pick, all of the potatoes must be sliced to the same thickness or they’ll cook unevenly. For a home cook working with a knife, this task can be a bit of a challenge. Fortunately, there are a couple of tools to streamline the process: a food processor fitted with the slicing blade (in which case the potatoes will need to be trimmed to fit through the feed tube) and a mandoline (a hand-held slicer). Please, if you’re working with a mandoline, use the guard and be careful when you slice the potatoes.

When I first learned how to make scalloped potatoes, the routine was to arrange the slices in several layers, seasoning each layer before adding the next, then pour the cream, cream sauce or milk on top. But somehow the final dish never seemed properly seasoned.

A better method is to add an exact amount of salt, garlic and thyme to the milk and cream mixture, then to pour it — deeply seasoned and hot — onto the potatoes. Believe me, those tubers drink it in like they’d been stranded in the desert for a week. And the finished product is amazing.

SCALLOPED POTATOES

1½ cups whole milk

1½ cups heavy cream

1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1½ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. ground black pepper

3 lbs. russet potatoes

1½ cups grated Parmesan cheese

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position.

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream, thyme, bay leaf, garlic, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then remove from the heat, cover and let steep while you prepare the potatoes.

Peel the potatoes, then using a mandoline or the slicing disk of a food processor, slice them crosswise into ⅛-inch-thick rounds. Remove and discard the bay leaf and garlic cloves from the milk mixture, then pour about a quarter of the mixture into a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

Add the potatoes, then the remaining milk mixture to the baking pan. Stir the potatoes to make sure they are separated, then press them down to distribute them evenly. Bake the potatoes on the middle shelf of the oven until the liquid has thickened and the top is golden, about 40 minutes. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over the tops of the potatoes, return the pan to the oven and bake until the top is browned, about 10 minutes.

Arlo’s, a website based in Wadsworth (http://arloscraftbeerguide.com), announced last week that it will start offering bus tours of Northeast Ohio breweries.

“The Northeast Ohio craft beer scene is exploding right now and we want to feature all the great local breweries and taprooms on our tours,” said Bill Rhoades, managing partner for Arlo’s. “Our goal has always been to promote craft beer and the breweries that make it.”

Arlo’s has partnered with Great Day! Tours in Broadview Heights to use a 50-passenger bus. It will offer both public tours and customized private ones for companies, special events, birthdays and other outings. Smaller buses also are available.

The tours, scheduled every other weekend, will feature two to four breweries.

Arlo’s is at least the third beer bus to launch in Northeast Ohio, joining the Cleveland Brew Bus and Craft Beer Heads.

The first Arlo’s tour is set for noon to 5 p.m. May 2. It will include trips to Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. and Aqueduct Brewery in Akron, and the Craft Beer Bar in Cuyahoga Falls, where the owners of MadCap Brew Co. will visit with tour guests.

The second tour is June 6. The itinerary is being finalized but it also will involve Akron breweries.

Tickets will range from $50 to $65, depending on the individual tour, and include a pint or flight at each stop. The tour also will feature giveaways and a tour guide.

There won’t be drinking permitted on the bus. “We’re not looking to have a drunk bus,” Rhoades said. “We want to expose folks to these breweries.”

The series began last week. The idea stems from the fact that craft beer drinkers always want to chat with brewers, owner and brewer Fred Karm said.

Cavs beer

The Cleveland Cavaliers-branded beer All For One hits the market this week.

To recap — in case you missed the announcement last month — the Cavaliers teamed up with the Brew Kettle in Strongsville to make a session IPA.

The beer is 4.75 percent alcohol by volume and features Equinox, Mosaic and Amarillo hops.

“We wanted it to have as pronounced a hop character, as far as flavor and aroma, as you can have in a low-alcohol beer,” brewer Jack Kephart said.

It’ll be available on draft and in six-packs of 12-ounce bottles, with the label sporting the Cavaliers’ wine and gold colors. The beer will be sold at Quicken Loans Arena, Heinen’s grocery stores, the Brew Kettle and a few other establishments.

The beer had to be approved by the NBA, in part because the label includes the Cavs logo.

All For One — the name plays off the Cavaliers’ slogan — is a limited-edition brew, which means when it’s gone, it’s gone. But there could be another Cavaliers-Brew Kettle beer in the future.

“We hope this is the first of several concepts along this [line] that we would partner with Brew Kettle on,” said Kerry Bubolz, president of business operations for the Cavaliers Operating Cos.

]]>1.577069Tue, 24 Mar 2015 22:41:46 +0000http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/food/what-s-for-dinner-herbed-chicken-pizza-1.576662?localLinksEnabled=false
Store-bought rotisserie chicken is an all-star. You can use it as a base for so many recipes, from salads to sandwiches to soups.

Today’s recipe makes use of leftover sliced or cubed rotisserie chicken as a pizza topping. The chicken is mixed with canned tomatoes, artichokes and olives. You can use any canned tomatoes, but the fire-roasted variety adds a smokiness to the pizza.

For the crust, you can use an already baked thin or thick crust available at most stores — think Boboli. Many stores also have their own brand. You can also use thick pita bread rounds. Or you can make your own dough, or use frozen and thawed pizza dough. If you do the latter, be sure to pre-bake it. Using pita bread rounds as the crust is also an option for making personal-size pizzas.

More tips:

• Use your favorite fresh herb in place of the thyme.

• Fontina is nice melting cheese, but you can use an Italian blend or whatever cheese you have.

• Vary the toppings with what you have on hand. Use sliced red bell peppers, zucchini or caramelized onions.

Brush the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and a few pinches of kosher salt on the pizza crust. Place crust on pizza pan or baking sheet. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and top crust with the chicken mixture, artichokes, red pepper, black olives and cheese. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Remove from oven and cut into desired size pieces.

Makes 6 servings.

Adapted from 150 Things to Make with Roast Chicken and 50 Ways to Roast It by Tony Rosenfeld (The Taunton Press, $14.95).

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the genetically engineered foods, saying they are “as safe and nutritious as their conventional counterparts.”

The approval covers six varieties of potatoes by Boise, Idaho-based J. R. Simplot Co. and two varieties of apples from the Canadian company Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc.

Okanagan, based in British Columbia, is trying to make apples a more convenient snack with its non-browning version. The company says bagged apples wouldn’t have to be washed in antioxidants like they are now, a process that can affect taste. Neal Carter, the company’s founder, says they want to see bagged apples become as prolific as bagged baby carrots.

“We know that in a convenience-driven world, a whole apple is too big of a commitment,” Carter said.

The apples are dubbed Arctic Apples, and Carter said he wants them to be labeled as such, since they bring an advantage to the marketplace. The first two varieties to get the non-browning treatment will be Granny Smith and Golden Delicious, and Carter says there won’t be significant plantings until 2017.

Simplot calls its potatoes Innate and the varieties selected include Ranger Russet, Russet Burbank and Atlantic.

“We’re trying to improve potatoes so everyone gets a better experience, just like it’s right out of the field,” said Haven Baker, vice president of plant sciences for Simplot.

It could be years before the average customer is able to buy one of the potatoes. The company has about 400 acres of Innate potatoes in storage from the 2014 harvest that it plans to deliver to growers, packers and shippers to be sent to a tightly-controlled network for use in small-scale test markets.

The company said those markets haven’t been determined, and it’s not clear yet how the potatoes will be labeled. The company said it’s not selling Innate seed potatoes on the open market.

However, one of the company’s oldest business partners — McDonald’s — has previously said it has no plans to use genetically modified potatoes. The company didn’t respond to inquiries from The Associated Press on Friday.

ConAgra, a major French fry and potato supplier through Lamb Weston to restaurant chains, said it won’t use the potatoes.

“All Lamb Weston frozen potato products are made with non-GMO potatoes, in line with customer demand,” the company said in a statement.

Simplot says its potatoes will have 70 percent less acrylamide, a chemical that can be created when potatoes are cooked at high temperatures, the company said. And it’s touting that as a health benefit, as some studies have shown acrylamide to be a potential carcinogen, though the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health says scientists “do not yet know with any certainty” whether the substance can be harmful in food.

The FDA in its approval Friday noted that acrylamide has been found to be a carcinogenic in rodents.

Simplot says it potatoes have 40 percent less bruising from impacts and pressure during harvest and storage then conventional potatoes, which the company said could reduce the more than 3 billion pounds of potatoes discarded each year by consumers.

“I think everybody wants to get what they pay for,” said Doug Cole, Simplot’s director of marketing and communications.

The FDA’s review process is voluntary. Both companies asked for a review to ensure their products met safety standards. As part of the process, FDA compares safety and data of the genetically engineered food in comparison to a conventional variety.

Gregory Jaffe, biotechnology director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, in a statement Friday objected to the voluntary system for approving genetically engineered foods.

“There’s no reason why these “Arctic” apples and “Innate” potatoes would pose any food safety or environmental risk,” he wrote. “That said, the process for allowing such new crops is badly flawed. Congress should pass legislation that requires new biotech crops to undergo a rigorous and mandatory approval process before foods made from those crops reach the marketplace.”

Simplot is working on a second generation Innate potato that will have additional traits, including resistance to late blight, which the company said will result in a 25 to 50 percent reduction in the need for pesticides. Late blight helped cause the Irish potato famine of the mid-19th century.

]]>1.567560Thu, 19 Mar 2015 13:16:10 +0000http://www.ohio.com/news/break-news/giant-eagle-recalls-cutout-cookies-because-of-undeclared-milk-allergen-1.576063?localLinksEnabled=false
Giant Eagle and Market District supermarkets announced a recall of all store brand seasonal cutout cookies sold through Wednesday because they contain a milk allergen that is not listed on the products’ labels.

The affected cookies were produced in holiday-themed shapes ranging from Valentine’s Day to St. Patrick’s Day to Easter. They were sold plain or decorated with icing or sprinkles.

People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products. The product is safe for consumption by those who do not have milk allergies.

The recalled cookies were sold in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia. The cookies were sold individually in the bakery service case as well as in clear packages.

Customers with a milk allergy who have purchased the affected product should dispose of it or return it to their local Giant Eagle or Market District store for a refund. Customers with questions may call Giant Eagle Customer Care at 800-553-2324 Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

]]>1.576063Thu, 19 Mar 2015 01:08:06 +0000http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/food/starbucks-to-begin-delivery-service-in-seattle-new-york-city-1.576049?localLinksEnabled=false
Starbucks said Wednesday that it will launch delivery in parts of Seattle and New York City in the second half of this year.

Here’s how it will work:

• There will be no minimum purchase required.

• There will be a small flat fee for delivery, but the exact amount hasn’t been determined.

• Delivery workers will accept tips.

• Average delivery time will be about 30 minutes, starting with the placement of the order.

• Delivery hours are still to be determined.

• In New York City, the service will be available in office buildings, including the Empire State Building. People will be able to place their orders on websites from existing or newly built shops, the latter of which might have trimmed down menus. Starbucks workers will make the deliveries.

• In Seattle, the service will be available in specific areas, including homes and offices. Starbucks will partner with a company called Postmate to make the deliveries.

]]>1.576049Wed, 18 Mar 2015 23:05:16 +0000http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/food/eat-this-drink-that-cleveland-museum-of-art-s-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-inspired-tours-irish-food-and-music-at-st-patrick-s-last-gasp-in-medina-and-more-1.575988?localLinksEnabled=false
Satisfy that lingering hankering for corned beef and cabbage on Saturday at the second annual St. Patrick’s “Last Gasp”at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 317 E. Liberty St., Medina. The 3-7 p.m. event will include dinner, drinks, activities for children and music, so much music. Special guest will be 15-year-old Caitlyn Cleary of Roswell, Ga., an award-winning Irish vocalist and fiddler, who will perform throughout the day. Other performers will be the Donegal Doggs at 3:10 p.m., the Roundabouts at 4:40 p.m., Jim Gill at 6:10 p.m. and the Cannon Irish Dancers at 4 and 5:30 p.m. Admission is free, dinners cost $8 and beverages are $1-$5. Information at www.stpauls-medina.org.

Here’s a little something to chew on. The Cleveland Museum of Art is offering Buffy the Vampire Slayer-inspired free tours through its galleriesat 12:30 p.m. Thursday and 6 p.m. Friday. Learn the connection between the fictional young woman who battled vampires, demons and monsters during a TV show and a movie and the museum’s artworks. The 30-minute or less tours are part of the museum’s Art Bites program.

Try not to slurp as you eat soup, inhale fresh baked bread, have drinks and dessert and then take a “walk” through Canton history with McKinley Presidential Library & Museum archivist Mark Holland. The Soup at Six Intersections II program will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday at the museum at 800 McKinley Monument Drive NW, Canton. Cost is $15. Prepaid reservations are required. Call 330-455-7043.

Get your drink on at Cleveland Week of Wine during tastings, seminars and dinners at various venues from Friday through March 27. Things get started at 7:30 p.m. Friday with the first of three Grand Tastings featuring hundreds of wines at the Cleveland Convention Center, 300 Lakeside Ave. Cost is $75. Other Grand Tastings are scheduled for 1 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Restaurants featuring dinners with pairings include Thyme2 in Medina on Sunday and Rosewood Tavern in Hudson on March 26. Find the complete schedule and buy tickets at www.clevelandweekofwine.org.